Kitchen-fork.



W. A. SCOTT.

KITCHEN FORK.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 7, 1916- 11,227,679 Patented May 29, 1917.

WILLIAM. anensrus scorr, or OCALA, FLORIDA.

KITCHEN-FORK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 29, 16d?o Application filed September 7, 1916. Serial No. 118,895.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. citizen of the United States, residing at Ocala, in the county of Marion and State of Florida, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Kitchen-Forks, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to an improved device for removing particles of meats or vegetables from the tines of a fork, which is constructed of a single piece of wire so formed as to permit of its easy manipulation by the hand holding the fork, the device being so mounted or arranged upon the fork that it will not be easily bent or distorted by rough handling and thereby rendered inoperative.

It is another, and more particular object of the invention, to provide a fork of the above character having spaced alined longitudinally extending slots in its shank portion, and a shiftable element having a loop embracing the fork tines, and a rod extending from said loops through one of the slots and having its end portion angularly offset and extended through the other slot in the fork shank, said shank being provided with means for cooperative engagement by the latter end of the rod to retain the loop upon the inner ends of the fork tines and hold the same against casual shifting movement.

It is a further general object of my invention to provide a device for the above purpose which is simple and inexpensive in its construction as Well as very durable, serviceable and convenient in practicable use.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention consists in the novel features of construction, combination, and arrange ment of parts to be hereinafter more fully described, claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure l is a perspective view of a kitchen fork constructed in accordance with the preferred embodiment of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional View thereof showing the sliding loop in its extended position in dotted lines, and

Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

Referring in detail to the drawing, 5 designates the shank of the fork which is of flat rectangular form in cross section and is provided with a handle portion of any de- Soo'r'r, a

sired shape. This shank 5, at one of its ends, is curved and flared or widened as indicated at 6, the spaced tines 7 of the fork being integrally formed with such flared end portion of the shank 5.

In the shank 5 of the fork a longitudinally extending slot 8 is formed and a sec ond relatively short longitudinal slot 9 is provided in the widened end 6 of the shank and in alinement'with the slot 8. For the purpose of cleaning the fork tines or removing vegetables or meats impaled thereby, I provide a narrow elongated wire loop 10 embracing the fork tines 7 and longitudinally shiftable thereon. The wire is extended from this loop 10 in parallel relation to the fork shank, as indicated at 11, said portion 11 of the wire extending over the widened portion 6 of the fork shank and through the slot 9 therein, The end of the wire is angularly ofiset and extended through the slot 8, as indicated at 12, and then laterally bent and projected at right angles to the shank 5 and returned upon itself to form a loop or finger piece 13, the terminal portion of said loop having resilient bearing engagement against the underside of the fork shank at one side of the slot 8 therein.

Assuming that the sliding loop 10 is disposed upon the inner ends of the fork tines shown in Fig. 1 and it is desired to remove particles of vegetables or meats from the fork tines, the shank of the fork is securel grasped by the hand and with the thumb pressure is exerted against the loop or finger piece 13 to force the same longitudinally upon the shank toward the fork tines. Thus the loop 10 will be moved outwardly upon the tines, the parallel portions of said loop forcing the meat or vegetables beyond the points of the tines. This movement of the cleaning element is limited by contact of the portion 12 of the wire rod with the web or integral section of the fork shank, indicated at 14, between the opposed ends of the slots 8 and 9. The shank of the fork, at the inner end of the slot 8 and at one side thereof, is formed with a shoulder 15, and upon the underside of the fork shank, a transverse groove or recess 16 is formed therein. Thus, when the cleaning element is pulled or drawn inwardly, the terminal of the loop 13 will snap into the groove or recess 16 and a further inward pull upon said loop will cause the wire overlying the fork shank to so as to underlie the slot 8;

ride over and beneath the shoulder 15. In.

this position the terminal of said loop is dis posed inwardly of the notch or groove 16 and exerts a resilient bearing pressure upon the underside of the fork shank. It will be seen, from reference to Fig. 2, that the space between the shoulder 15 and the under side of the shank directly opposite thereto and at the side of the groove 16, is slightly greater than the thickness of the shank so that there will be an additional or greater bearing pressure of the terminal of the loop 13 at this point sufficient to hold the cleaning element against casual shifting move ment. Thus the cleaning element is securely held in its retracted, inoperative position, during the ordinary use of the fork.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, the construction, manner of use, and several advantages of my improved kitchen fork will be clearly understood. lVhile the fork is preferably constructed of metal, it will be understood that the cleaning device may also be readily applied to wooden forks. By means of the device, the fork tines may be at all times kept clean and free from particles of vegetables or meats being cooked, without requiring that the tines be drawn over the edge of the pot or other receptacle in order to remove such particles, with the possibility that the particles will be thrown out of the pot. The cleaning device may be very easily and quickly manipulated by the finger of the hand holding the fork.

While I have shown and described the preferred form and construction of the several features of the device, it is to be understood that the same are susceptible of considerable modifications therein and I, therefore, reserve the privilege of resorting to all such legitimate changes as may be fairly embodied within the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I desire to claim and secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A fork having a handle, the handle being longitudinally slotted, and a cleaning member coacting with the tines of the fork and slidingly mounted thereon, the cleaning member being formed of a loop of wire having a shank extending in parallel relation to and beneath the handle, the extremity of the shank being bent to form a thumb piece projected laterally beyond the side edge of the handle of the fork, said thumb piece embracing the fork handle and having sliding engagement in the slot.

2. A fork and a cleaning member coacting with. the tines thereof and slidingly mounted thereon, the cleaning member liaving a shank extending along the handle of the fork and having a thumb piece projecting laterally beyond the side edge of the handle, the fork handle and the shank having coacting means engageable with each other when the cleaning member is in. a retracted position to hold said cleaning member in said retracted position but disengageable upon the projection of the cleaning member, and coacting means limiting the projection of the cleaning member on the tines.

3. A fork having a handle longitudinally slotted and a cleaning member coacting with the tines of the fork and slidingly mounted thereon and having a shank extending through said slot to the under side of the fork and extending along parallel to the under face of the handle and formed at its end with a laterally projecting thumb piece, said thumb piece having sliding engagement with the handle, coacting means on the shank and fork handle for yieldingly detaining the cleaning member in a retracted position, said means being engageable with each other when the cleaning member is retracted but disengageable upon a projection of the cleaning member, and coacting means on the handle and the shank limiting the projection of the cleaning member on the tines.

t. A fork having a handle and a clean ing member coacting with the tines of the fork and slidingly mounted thereon, the cleaning member havinga shank extending along the handle of the fork and having a laterally projecting thumb piece, the handle of the fork being formed with a rounded shoulder and the thumb piece embracing the fork and yieldingly engaging said shoulder when the cleaning member is in its fully retracted position.

5. The combination with a fork having a slot in its shank portion, of a cleaning member, including a loop embracing the fork tines and shiftable thereon, and a rod extended from said loop in parallel rela tion to the shank, said rod being angularly offset and slidably engaged in the slot, the end of the rod being bent away from the shank of the fork and bearing upon the top thereof, said end of the rod being then bent upon itself to form a spring handle in the bend away from said fork shank, and the terminal thereof exerting a spring pressure against the underside of the fork shank.

6. The combination with a fork having spaced, longitudinally alined slots, of a wire cleaning member including a loop slidably embracing the fork tines, the wire being extended from said loop through one of the slots in the shank and then angularly bent and extended through the other of the slots, the end portion of the wire being formed-into a finger loop extending at right angles to the fork shank, said loop having a free, resiliently movable terminal portion,

and said shank being provided with means to cause said loop terminal to exert a bearing pressure upon the shank when the loop is disposed at one end of the latter slot, and thereby hold the cleaning member against casual shifting movement with respect to the fork shank.

7. A fork, a cleaning member slidingly mounted on the fork and coacting with the tines thereof, the cleaning member having a shank extending along the handle of the fork and terminating in a loop forming a spring handle projecting away from the handle of the fork, the fork handle having a stop over which the spring handle is permitted to pass by the opening of its loop and behind which the spring handle is engaged by the closing of its loop after the latter passes the stop for holding such cleaning member in retracted position against casual displacement, said spring handle being disengageable from said stop at will preliminary to the projection of said cleaning member.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM AUGUSTUS SCOTT. Witnesses:

C. L. Wns'r, P. H. NUGENT.

' Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0. 

